Walgreens ordered to pay $300M for filling illegal opioid prescriptions

Illinois-based national pharmacy chain Walgreens has been ordered by the Department of Justice to pay $300 million in fines for illegally filling invalid opioid prescriptions.

According to a statement from the DOJ, the company also violated the False Claims Act when it sought payment for many of those invalid prescriptions by Medicare and other federal health care programs

In a complaint filed in January of this year, the government alleges that from August 2012 through March 1, 2023, Walgreens knowingly filled millions of unlawful controlled substance prescriptions around the country. The prescriptions included excessive quantities of opioids, many filled significantly early, and prescriptions for an abused combination of three drugs known as a “trinity.” 

This took place despite signs indicating a high likelihood that the prescriptions were invalid because they lacked a legitimate medical purpose or were not issued in “the usual course of professional practice” says the DOJ. 

Additionally, the complaint says that Walgreens pressured its pharmacists to fill the prescriptions and intentionally withheld data from pharmacists regarding the prescribers.

“Pharmacies have a legal responsibility to prescribe controlled substances in a safe and professional manner, not dispense dangerous drugs just for profit,” says Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a released statement. “This Department of Justice is committed to ending the opioid crisis and holding bad actors accountable for their failure to protect patients from addiction.”

The terms of the settlement are based on what Walgreens, with $147 billion in annual revenue, is able to pay. If the company is sold, merged or transferred before fiscal year 2032, it will be ordered to pay an additional $50 million.